Minako Hakurei
Full Name: Minako Kazue Hakurei Species: Celestial (formerly human) Titles: Previous Hakurei Miko, Reikokuna Oni Miko ("Iron-Fisted Demon Shrine Maiden"), Bane of Feral Youkai, Champion of the Dragon, Lady Sideboob Age: meaningless (died in late 30s, became immortal) Height: 6'0" Weight: never measured Birthplace: Hakurei Shrine Current Residence: Hakurei Shrine Occupation: Shrine Maiden (former), Martial Artist, Shinigami (reaper class) Abilities: immense chi-infused strength, vast spiritual power, Martial Arts, near-impervious Celestial skin, Hakurei Mystic Rites, summon power from the Shinto Kami, Shinigami powers Relationships Fan Characters Kurisu Youseikyo - close friend, sworn brother, mutual attraction, possible lover? Koyomi Youseikyo - friend Kagome Mizuhara - friend Casey Asakura - sparring partner Canon Characters Reimu - daughter, heir Shingyoku - servants of the Hakurei clan Genji - family guardian Meira - pupil Rikako Asakura - acquaintance Rumia Yagami - old friend, sworn sister Hong Meiling - sparring partner Yukari Yakumo - friend (of a sort), mutual attraction Komachi Onazuka - friend, co-worker Eiki Shiki - friend, employer Tenshi Hinanai - acquaintance Yuugi Hoshiguma - sparring partner Dragon God Ryuujin - divine patron (primary), guardian deity Kasen Ibaraki - lifelong friend, sworn sister Biography Minako, often better known to the village humans by her middle name of Kazue ("harmony blessing"), was considered one of the best examples of the Hakurei clan's line of shrine maidens and priests. Using her divine power and chi to augment her body, Minako was a force to be reckoned with, leveling her foes with brutal physical blows and mystic sealing rites. From the age of 8 and onward, Minako trained her body, mind, and soul, becoming a living weapon against hostile youkai. Even two of the Oni Devas of the Mountains confirmed her strength and skill in battle. Minako proved to be extremely gifted in the arts of combat, her body possessing a phenomenal amount of chi. After her training was complete at age 12, she proved terrifyingly powerful in the spiritual arts, and used them to bolster her body, gaining great strength, a lightning-quick mind, and a moderate gift with magic. The humans of Gensokyo's villages called her the greatest Hakurei to ever live, and gave her the nickname Kazue, "Harmony Blessing", which she took as a formal middle name. The Prodigy's Meeting with the Yakumo Siblings Minako's reputation at such a young age ultimately caught the attention of the Yakumo siblings. Unsure of how to approach the fearsome young woman, Yukari held back, but Kurisu, his judgment clouded by a powerful crush, openly challenged her to a duel. Like Yuugi and Suika before him, Kurisu was defeated, but he came the closest out of any youkai to winning, tackling Minako to the ground and successfully pinning her. The two warriors' eyes met, and found a fire that matched their own. Attraction was born from that duel, reciprocated on both sides. Yukari eventually also grew fond of the cantankerous but easily teased Minako, offering her both useful advice and a friendly ear for her concerns about her increasingly demanding family. Though attracted to both siblings, Minako could not stand the way they childishly vied for her attention, often knocking them about to silence their playful bickering. Despite all this, Kurisu managed to win Minako's trust, enough that she called him a brother. It was a gesture that Kurisu would take to heart, and the formerly aloof, reclusive younger Yakumo became more sociable towards the humans who lived near his home, converting his small building into what we now know as the Palace of Animals. Yukari herself even became a bit more passive and friendly towards humans for a brief period, seeming almost human around Minako. Despite their selfish motives, being around Minako made the two better people... for a time. Fall From Favor However, as Minako grew, so did her powers, and her youkai body count. Minako would survive fights with dangerous youkai that none of her relatives, save for her mentor and grandfather Takashi Hakurei, would dare challenge. As her kills crossed the seven hundred mark, the village humans realized that the woman defending them from the monsters was something of a monster herself. Minako became feared by youkai and human alike, her face alone being able to silence a noisy room, or compel a wild youkai to stop what they're doing and run in terror. Saddened by the loss of companionship, Minako took to wearing masks when out in public, hoping that hiding her face would give those around her some measure of comfort. Though secretly, it was also to hide from their fearful, hateful stares. However, Minako was able to take this bitter darkness in her heart, and turn it into a weapon, her "Fantasy Nature", a fearsome battle aura that made her the powerhouse she was feared for being. The Iron Fisted Demon Shrine Maiden was born Closing Her Heart All that is known about the man who was chosen by the Hakurei clan to be Reimu's father is that he was a noble from an Outside World family close to the Hakurei clan, their union was an attempt by the family to curry favor with Ryuujin, and he disappeared under very suspicious circumstances on a new moon night, only for his brutally mangled corpse to be found a few hours after Reimu's birth. Familial tradtion demanded the Border Keeper's bloodline remain purely human, so despite overtures from Kurisu and a playful monetary bid by Yukari, clan patriarch Takashi rejected them both, and demanded they leave the Hakurei Shrine grounds until Minako had borne a "pure blooded" child, calling Yukari and Kurisu both "unworthy beasts". Yukari, greatly insulted but disinclined towards direct action, flatly declared that the Hakurei clan was dead to her, and she would now only aid the direct bloodline of the Border Keeper, to hell with the clan itself. Kurisu, still in love with Minako but intent on letting her make her own choices, confronted her directly, stealing her first kiss and demanding she reject him face to face. Though she cared deeply for Kurisu, Minako lacked the courage to defy her grandfather's will and family tradition. Disappointed and saddened, Kurisu declared she was no longer the woman he fell in love with, cursed the Hakurei clan in the tongue of the Fey, then vanished without a fight. In this moment, Minako decided that her emotional attachments would only tear her apart over time. So she closed off her heart, and began treating everyone, friends and family alike, as strangers, making everyone equal in her eyes. Reimu would later inherit this anti-social streak, and like Reimu, Minako kept only a single person close to her heart: the Hakurei clan's constant companion, the oni hermit Kasen Ibaraki. Reimu Minako did not mourn the disappearance and later confirmed death of her husband. She had never truly loved him. She held her child in her arms, and vowed to treat the tiny infant better than she had been treated. She intended to take a lighter touch with the child's training than she remembered her grandfather being with her, and so decided to wait until the girl was six years of age before starting, meaning a longer but more gradual training process. Reimu was the one person Minako showed any overt affection to, and she zealously protected her even from their own relatives. Reimu grew into an incredibly sweet, adorable child, and the village humans often wondered how Minako could produce such a ball of sunshine. Kurisu also adopted Reimu as his niece, telling her she was always welcome at the Palace of Animals. A Friend in the Night About the time Reimu turned six, Yukari suggested to Minako that something needed to be done about Rumia Yagami, who she had recently found holed up once more in her ancient boneyard, formed from the corpses of every human she'd ever killed. When challenged by Yukari about how her appetite for flesh terrified even other youkai, the insane Rumia merely scoffed and ignored her, even brushing off the concerns of Kurisu, her childhood friend. Minako casually battered the Shadow Siren into submission and tied her to a tree in front of Hakurei Shrine, leaving her to stew for a week. Each day, the innocent Reimu would offer Rumia a rice ball. Rumia would eventually accept the offered gift. The subsequent friendship with the mother and child would grant the lonely Rumia an anchor of clarity and sanity. For a single, wonderful year, Rumia was able to ignore the creeping madness and endless hunger for flesh that were the legacy of her wounds from the Youkai-Lunari War, and live a normal life with friends. In turn, her friendship allowed Minako to open her heart, casting aside the shell she had built around herself after years of being feared and hated, and being forced into a loveless union. Minako cast aside her masks, and embraced Rumia as a sworn sister. She reopened ties with the Yakumo siblings, and took a young Meira on as a student alongside Reimu in an effort to ease the fears of the village, remind them that she was still human. Having a second mother figure even made up for Reimu's lack of a father. Kurisu looked on at the three of them. The woman he loved as a sister and more was happy for the first time in decades. His childhood friend was lucid and sane. And they had an adorable child to cuddle, train and spoil together. Things seemed to finally be going right for Minako at long last. The Night's Betrayal However, Rumia is the Youkai of Darkness, and Darkness is always driven to consume more of itself. Rumia's various complications and her inborn hunger for the darkness inside living things eventually got the better of her, and Yukari encouraged Minako to put Rumia out of her misery before she could do harm to humans again. Rumia, of course, didn't want to die, and swore not to give in to her hunger, at least not against humans. Yukari needed only to point at the literal mountain of skulls Rumia called her home to refute that promise, and even Rumia admitted she could no longer fight the damage Yorihime had done to her mind, let alone her instincts. Still, Rumia stated she would rather starve than break the miko's trust. But Minako had a plan of her own to save her best friend. She donned her kitsune war mask one final time, and attacked Rumia with lethal intent, forcing a fight-or-die encounter. Rumia unleashed her full power as the Night Incarnate, and in her wild frenzy of self-defense, mortally wounded Minako. Overcome with grief at murdering her best friend, Rumia made no attempt to fight Minako's last act: using her signature hair ribbon to seal her mind and powers, reducing her to a dim-witted child. Minako's last breath was a sob-choked farewell, and Rumia devoured her corpse, consuming the darkness of over nine hundred youkai, as well as the pain, sorrow, anger, and misery of her best friend, the woman who gave her life to save hers. It was enough darkness to satiate Rumia for thousands of years. Yukari and Kurisu both contemplated killing Rumia, but their love for her and Minako both compelled them to grant their beloved's final wish, give the little creature a new lease on life. Kurisu put Rumia into the care of Cirno and her posse of goofballs, and Yukari sealed her memories, as well as Reimu's, to protect them both from the grief. Reimu eventually adjusted to being an orphan with Kasen as her caretaker until she came of age, and eventually a mellowed out Mima would later help tend the shrine once freed from the Silent Temple in Jigoku. However, Reimu would eventually adopt her mother's old behavior of pushing everyone away, with Marisa becoming her only friend. Reconciliation and Passing On Despite her death, Minako was not bound for the afterlife just yet. Yukari and her friend Yuyuko would keep her spirit hidden in a sealed pocket near Hakurei Shrine, where she would wait for the next part of her plan to come to pass. Shortly after the dawning of the newest 60-year cycle for Gensokyo, Rumia's seals broke, and she attempted to destroy the Hakurei Barrier in order to expose Gensokyo to the outside world, a fitting punishment in her eyes for pushing away the woman who had sworn to protect them. She put all of her life force into defeating an older Reimu, but it was not enough. Reimu won with the aid of Marisa and the Scarlet Devil's entourage, and Rumia faded away, leaving her brokenhearted surrogate daughter behind. But she too was scooped up into the sealed pocket by the sage and the ghost princess. There, the two friends found eachother again. Rumia decided death would not be so bad, so long as Minako was with her. But Reimu, who had just newly learned her own Fantasy Nature - the legendary Fantasy Heaven - refused to allow it, breaching the little pocket world to reclaim her friend. Minako pushed Rumia away, telling her to live the life she had been given. Rumia ultimately agreed, thanking Minako for the second chance she had died to give her, and vanishing back to the world of the living with Reimu. Minako remained a little longer, however, to speak with Yukari and Kurisu, who had used the events since her death to mold Reimu for this day when she would truly come into her own as a Hakurei Miko. As the pocket world began to degrade, Minako's soul was slowly pulled away towards Higan. Yukari broke down, admiting that not being able to hang onto something she cared about was painful, an experience she could never get used to no matter how many times she'd been through it. Minako, unable to mask her emotions anymore, broke down as well, confessing that it hurt her just as much. Her time finally up, Minako admitted her love for Yukari and Kurisu both, granting the latter a final kiss before fading away, and the promise that she would never forget them. Afterlife, Judgment, and Enlightenment Yuyuko escorted Minako to the bank of the Senzu River, and the dock manned by Komachi. The shinigami brought Minako to Higan, and then the court of the yama of Asia, Eiki Shiki. Eiki took her measure of Minako's life, noting a lifetime of self-sacrifice and kindness towards the meek, and found her worthy of the heavens. Minako's soul was ferried to the Dragon Palace of Bhava-agra and clothed in the flesh of a Celestial. Minako spent the next few years communing with the honored dead of the Hakurei clan and continuing to train, often entertaining the gods and other Celestials with her displays of skill, while silently watching her only daughter from on high, praying for her safety. She found a bit of solace in the companionship of the Living Almanac, who often visited the heavens to collect information, and left an impression on Tara that carried over into Koyomi when the two half-souls reunited. Though Minako is on friendly terms with Iku - who considers her the most worthy member of the Hakurei line - Tenshi's childish antics and boredom-fueled mischief tend to grate on her nerves. Present Day Eiki Shiki currently employs Minako as a reaper-class shinigami, so she now walks the fields of Gensokyo, once again. It remains to be seen whether the Youseikyos will attempt to act on their feelings for the woman, but they, Reimu, Rumia, Meira, Kasen, and Yukari are all very happy to have Minako back in their lives. Abilities While not on the level of the Watatsuki sisters, Minako can summon power from members of the Shinto pantheon. She also has incredible control over her own body, using her chi to augment her physical ability and amplify her strength, and quicken her mind to the point of having near-instant reaction time. Minako also now has the near-impervious skin of the Celestials, rendering her almost impossible to injure. And as a talented martial artist, Minako has the technical skill to oust nearly any opponent in a hand-to-hand battle. As a shinigami, Minako possesses all the usual abilities, such as being able to divine the remaining natural lifespan and true name of mortals. Minako is a reaper-class shinigami, often sent to kill mortals attempting to cheat death by extending their lives through means not blessed by the heavens. Rather than use a Death Note or scythe, Minako continues to use nothing but her bare hands, and her inborn spiritual and magical power. Trivia *Minako is, quite obviously, a version of the MUGEN fan-character Hakurei Miko. In the Walfasverse, she is Reimu's mother. *Elements of the fan-series Osana Reimu and its sequel Reireimu were used in Minako's backstory. *Meiling is perhaps Minako's one peer in the realm of Martial Arts among Touhou's canonical cast. Their stances in Tai Chi are identical. It's unclear what the difference between her and Ranma Saotome might be, but Yukari has more than once pondered pitting the woman against Yuyuko's fearsome houseguest. *Minako's middle name was taken from Hakurei Miko's depiction in a discontinued 4koma series from DeviantArt by Rexlent90. The name was coined only two comics before Rexlent discontinued the series, so WatcherCCG decided to use it for the Sagashiverse version of Hakurei Miko. Though Sagashi chose Minako as her given name, the two men compromised, making Kazue her middle name. *A fight between Minako and Mordred Pendragon is one of those legendary sorts of duels that would end with the destruction of everything around them. *Among Minako's many masks, her favorite and most well-known is the kitsune mask she wears when performing her duties as the Hakurei Miko. Rumia broke it during their final duel, but upon her return to the living, Yukari presented Minako with the restored mask as a sign of renewed friendship... Walfas DNA *3.39:Minako hakurei:100:229:176:217:189:59:1:2:0:0:0:28294F Category:Sagashiverse Category:WatcherCCG